Area Report for Board of Trustees

Thank you for your continued support of Highline College students and programs. During the month of July, the Student Services Division continued advancing initiatives aligned with Highline College’s core themes of Access, Student Learning, Community Partnerships, and Culture and Capacity.

As the College transitions into the summer quarter of 2026, Student Services remains focused on supporting enrollment growth, improving student access and onboarding experiences, celebrating the success of Commencement 2026 at ShoWare Center in Kent, and preparing for the upcoming academic year. Departments across the division continue strengthening services, hiring key personnel, and developing innovative approaches to better serve students throughout their educational journey.

Highlights this month include continued financial aid processing for the 2026-2027 aid year, strong enrollment activity for summer and fall quarters, successful completion of Commencement 2026, strategic hiring efforts across multiple departments, and planning efforts to improve advising and orientation experiences for future students.

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

• Financial Aid Services continues preparing for the 2026-2027 financial aid cycle. Between April 16 and June 18, FAFSA records were successfully loaded into ctcLink and staff continue downloading and processing applications as they become available. Current system limitations allow ctcLink to load ten files at a time, requiring ongoing monitoring and processing by staff.
• Enrollment Services continues supporting students through admissions processing and front-line enrollment assistance. During the month of June, Enrollment Services assisted 1,432 walk-up students, bringing the annual total to 13,065 student contacts since July 2025.
• Summer 2026 admissions applications continue to show growth, with 1,672 applications processed compared to 1,615 during Summer 2025. Fall 2026 applications currently stand at 2,659 processed applications.
• The College continues monitoring a significant increase in fraudulent admission applications. As of June 30, 676 Summer applications and 279 Fall applications have been identified as suspected fraudulent submissions and removed from processing workflows.

Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve

• Entry Advising will reduce the number of New Student Orientation sessions to ten per quarter beginning this academic year to improve staffing capacity and student support.
• A new pilot orientation model designed to provide additional registration assistance and onboarding support is currently under development and is anticipated to launch during Winter Quarter 2027 for Spring 2027 enrollment.
• In preparation for the new model, Pathway Advisors will begin offering registration support sessions promoted through orientation programming to assist students with enrollment completion and educational planning.
• Advising leadership continues preparing for implementation of revisions to the Associate in Arts Direct Transfer Agreement (AA-DTA) following recent updates from the state system.

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued , visible relationship with communities we serve

• Career and Transfer Services continues supporting transfer students through the Path to UW partnership. Services will remain fully remote during the summer months from June 15 through August 31 while continuing to provide transfer advising support through virtual drop-in services.
• Advising leaders from Highline College and Central Washington University are partnering to host a regional Advisor Professional Development Day in November 2026. The event will focus on advising best practices, transfer trends, and opportunities for collaboration between institutions while creating space for advisor and faculty engagement.
• Outreach and Recruitment continue supporting enrollment efforts while actively recruiting for a new Program Coordinator position to strengthen community engagement and student recruitment initiatives.

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Become an anti-racist college through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• Advising leadership will host an all-advisor meeting in July to strengthen collaboration, share updates, and prepare advising teams for upcoming policy and procedural changes.
• Commencement 2026 was a significant success and reflected the collaborative efforts of faculty, staff, and student leaders across campus.
  • 834 graduates crossed the stage during the ceremony, representing 93 percent of the 897 students who RSVP’d to participate.
  • The ceremony concluded in 2 hours and 23 minutes, significantly shorter than the anticipated three-hour schedule.
  • The large screen installed above the stage was exceptionally well received by graduates and families and will be recommended for future ceremonies.
  • Seventy-five faculty and staff participated in the graduate welcome tunnel, continuing a tradition that has become an important part of the student experience.
• Planning efforts for Commencement 2027 are already underway, including exploration of two separate ceremonies for transfer and terminal degree students, ticketing options to improve guest experiences, and maintaining enhanced visual technology used during this year’s event. 

Division Honors and Achievements

• Highline College celebrated one of its largest graduating classes in recent years with more than 1,100 students applying for Spring 2026 graduation.
• Student Services successfully supported a Commencement ceremony that balanced efficiency with celebration, finishing well ahead of schedule while maintaining a high-quality experience for students and families.
• Multiple Student Services departments continue strengthening capacity through strategic hiring and professional development opportunities that will improve service delivery and student outcomes in the coming academic year.

Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Student Services, Jose “Tony” Garcia